DRUMLINOIDS 

CATATONK 


QfeiTOE 


FOLIO. 


gLo.  D.  HUBBARD. 

/ 


/ 

/ 


REPRINTED  FROM 


Bulletin  of  the  American  Geographical  Society 
Vol.  XXXVIII,  June,  1906. 


I • 


\l 


DRUMLINOIDS  OF  THE  CATATONK  FOLIO.* 


BY 

GEO.  D.  HUBBARD. 

The  area  designated  the  Catatonk  Folio  includes  the  Dryden, 
Harford,  Owego,  and  Apalachin  sheets  of  the  United  States  Topo- 
graphic Atlas,  and  is  situated  in  the  south  central  part  of  the  State 
of  New  York.  Ithaca  lies  near  the  northwest  corner,  Owego  near 
the  southwest  corner,  and  Binghamton  two  or  three  miles  beyond 
the  eastern  boundary.  The  Pennsylvania  line  is  coincident  v/ith 
the  southern  limits. 

The  region  is  a part  of  the  maturely-dissected  upland  of  the 
northern  portion  of  the  Allegheny  Plateau,  and  has  a relief  of 
US00-1)^00  feet.  The  continental  glacier  once  covered  the  entire 
area,  and  extended  50  miles  or  more  beyond  ;f  and  in  retreating 
did  not  leave  appreciable  moraines  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
area,  but  heaped  large  accumulations  in  the  northern  part.  Most 
of  the  glacial  striae  indicate  a movement  from  E.  N.  E.  or  N.  E. 

While  there  is  a great  variety  of  morainic  form  and  distribution 
in  the  northern  half  of  the  area,  and  much  of  interest  has  been 
found  there,  in  the  southern  portion  the  glacial  field  is  quite  mono- 
tonous. By  far  the  most  attractive  till  deposits  here  are  numerous 
rounded  hills,  usually  drumlin-shaped,  and  distributed  rather 
unsystematically.  They  vary  in  length  from  less  than  one-eighth 
to  fully  three-fourths  of  a mile,  and  in  height  from  15  to  100  feet. 
Because  of  their  resemblance  to  drumlins  they  will  be  termed 
drumlinoids. 

Descriptions . — In  the  Harford  sheet,  which  was  mapped  by 
Mr.  B.  S.  Butler,  the  village  of  Nanticoke  is  on  one  of  these 
rounded  or  elliptical  hills,  ten  of  which  occur  in  the  one  valley. 
Numerous  village  wells  reach  a depth  of  from  30  to  80  feet,  and 
not  one  encounters  bed-rock.  Yet  the  deeper  wells  extend  below 
the  bottom  of  the  hill.  A short  distance  south  of  Nanticoke  are 

* By  permission  of  the  Director  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey.  The  field  work  of  this 
paper  was  done  while  the  author  was  acting  as  an  assistant  to  Professor  R.  S.  Tarr  under  the  U.  S. 
G.  S.  in  the  study  of  the  physiography  and  quaternary  geology  of  the  Catatonk  Folio.  Some  of  the 
drift  forms  herein  described  were  mapped  and  studied  by  Professor  Tarr,  and  others  by  Mr.  B.  S. 
Butler.  Acknowledgment  to  both  is  gladly  made  for  contributions  received  from  their  work  and  for 
many  suggestions  made  during  the  devebpment  of  the  interpretation  of  the  phenomena.  In  addi- 
tion, Professor  1 arr  has  read  the  report  and  given  valuable  criticism  and  suggestion. 

+ Lewis,  H.  C.— Second  Geol.  Surv.  Pa.  Z.  Ch.  2 and  3. 

Wright,  G.  F.— The  Ice  Age  of  N.  Amer.  Ch.  VII. 

. 1Q2QO  ■ 


2 Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 

three  similar  hills,  and  about  the  same  distance  north  are  four 
more;  while  2 miles  N.  W.  is  another  pierced  by  a well  18  feet 
deep  through  till.  Just  beyond  the  latter  is  a still  larger  one,  with 
one  well  18  feet  deep  and  another  80  feet  deep.  Neither  well 
touches  rock,  but  each  is  reported  as  having  passed  through  hard- 
pan  most  of  the  way.  The  80-foot  well  goes  below  the  base  of  the 
hill.  All  the  above  ten  till-masses  stand  out  abruptly  into  the 
valley,  forcing  the  stream  to  one  side  and  sometimes  requiring  it 
to  cut*  in  rock. 

Another  characteristic  mass  occurs  on  the  Apalachin  sheet 
about  a half  mile  north  of  Gaskill.  (See  Fig.  1.)  The  valley  in 

which  it  lies  is  a 
broad,  mature  form 
with  a well-devel- 
oped flood-plain  for 
some  distance  both 
above  and  below 
this  point.  The  till 
lies  athwart  the  val- 
ley very  much  like 
a great  dam,  higher 
in  the  central  part 
than  at  either  side, 
in  outline  nearly 
circular,  and  about 
600  yards  across. 
Its  total  height 
above  the  border- 
ing stream-bed  is 
about  100  feet.  So 
completely  does  this  mass  of  material  obstruct  the  valley  that  the 
stream  now  flows  in  a rock  gorge  25-75  feet  wide  along  its  eastern 
margin.  The  rock  wall  on  the  east  rises  precipitously  almost  75 
feet;  but  on  the  west  it  only  shows  at  one  point,  where  it  rises 
about  10  feet,  above  which  is  a till  slope  of  20-30  feet.  (See 
section,  Fig.  2.)  The  hill  is  smooth  and  rounded.  An  old  dug 
well  whose  depth  is  not  exactly  known,  but  is  in  the  vicinity  of  25 
feet,  is  found  near  the  north  side.  Between  the  till  hill  and  the 
rock  wall  on  the  west  side  of  the  valley  is  a low  col  some  30  feet 
below  the  hill  top.  There  must  have  been  a similar  but  lower  one 
on  the  east  side.  Apparently  there  was  a time  when  this  dam 
across  the  valley  ponded  back  the  waters  until  they  overflowed  at 


FIG.  I. — CONTOUR  MAP  OF  DRUMLINOIDS,  NANTICOKE  CREEK, 
MILE  NORTH  OF  GASKILL.  SCALE,  2 IN.=  I MILE. 
ENLARGED  FROM  APALACHIN  SHEET. 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


a 


the  lowest  place,  that  probably  being  above  the  present  rock  gorge. 
The  lowlands  to  the  north  consist  of  fine  sand  and  clay  at  the 
surface. 

A quarter  of  a mile  upstream  from  this  large  rounded  hill  is 
another  similar  form  more 
separated  from  the  valley 
wall  than  the  last  but  not 
discerned  by  the  topo- 
grapher. This  one  is  twice 
as  long  as  broad,  rises  60 

feet  above  the  stream,  and  fig.  2.— cross  section  at  a— b,  fig.  i,  vertical  ex- 
aggeration DOTS  =TILL.  LINES  =ROCK. 

lies  with  its  long  axis  essen- 
tially parallel  with  the  valley  at  that  point,  and  on  its  northern 
slope  presents  a morainic  surface.  South  of  the  large  mass,  above 
described,  the  valley  contains  two  more  small  similar  hills,  one  of 
which  appears  in  Fig.  1. 

In  the  valley  of  Barnes  Creek,  one  and  one-half  miles  north- 
east of  Owego,  occurs  a small  ovoid  hill,  which  forces  the  stream 
against  rock  on  the  east.  Its  long  axis,  250-300  yards  in  length,  lies 
north  and  south 
and  parallel  with 
the  valley.  A de- 
finite sag  may  be 
seen  between  the 
hill  and  the  west 
valley  wall;  and 
the  surface  of  the 
former  is  a little 
irregular  and  has 
one  little  swamp. 

There  is  a good 
flood-plain  below 
this  obstruction, 
and  also  for  a mile 
and  a half  above; 
but  the  stream 
passes  the  hill  in  a 
narrow  gorge,  in  which  the  Owego  Water  Board  has  caused  to  be 
erected  a dam  to  retain  water  for  a city  supply. 

Near  the  mouth  of  Tracy  Creek  on  the  Apalachin  sheet  a ridge, 
which  seems  to  be  essentially  all  till,  lies  exactly  across  the  valley. 
(See  Fig  3.)  Its  surface  is  smooth  and  rounded,  and  not  the  least 


FIG.  3. — NEAR  THE  MOUTH  OF  TRACY  CREEK  A CROSS  RIDGE 
NEARLY  CLOSES  THE  VALLEY.  SCALE,  2 IN.=  I MILE. 


>L 

^ 8 uc. 

lioo 

IOOV 


4 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


morainic.  The  creek  flows  through  a broad  flood-plain  for  five  or 
six  miles  above  this  point,  and  then,  as  it  runs  along  the  west  side 

of  the  obstruc- 
tion, is  forced  in- 
to a narrow  rock 
gorge.  The  gorge 
has  a high  steep 
bluff  of  rocks  on 
the  west,  but  only 

FIG.  4.— CROSS  SECTION  AT  A- B,  FIG.  3.  DOTS  __TILL.  LINES  = ROCK.  alOWOne  OH  the 
VERTICAL  EXAGGERATION  8%.  J r 

east,  composed  ot 

till,  in  which  the  rock  shows  at  but  one  point.  (See  section,  Fig.  4.) 
In  the  next  valley  to  the  west,  that  of  the  Apalachin  Creek,  about 


N 


half  a mile  north  of  South  Apalachin,  may  be  found  a neat  little 
rounded  hill  rising  in  the  midst  of  the  valley  and  tied  to  the  west  val- 
ley wall  by  heavy  till  deposits,  which  present  in  part  a smooth  surface 
and  in  part  a morainic  one.  A stream  cut  on  the  east  exposes  only 
till.  The  whole  structure  at  this  point  resembles  much  a morainic 
loop,  save  that  its  northern  and  eastern  portions  are  very  smooth. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Choconut,  where  these  peculiar  forms  first 
attracted  marked  attention,  there  are  nine  individual  examples, 

and  clustered  to 
the  east  of  the 
mouth  are  four 
more  of  doubtful 
character.  All  are 
rounded  and  some 
bear  striking  re- 
semblances to  the 
drumlins  of  the 
Syracuse-R  och- 
ester,  N.  Y.,  dis- 
trict.* Where  one 
axis  is  appreci- 
ably longer  than 
another  it  lies 
parallel  with  the 
valley,  except  in 
one  case.  Of  the 
four  at  the  mouth  of  the  valley,  the  two  outer  ones  are  parallel 
with  the  Choconut,  while  the  two  inner  ones  are  parallel  to  the 


* Lincoln— Amer.  Jour.  Sci.,  Vol.  XL1V  (1892),  pp.  290-301. 
Tarr— The  Phys.  Geog.  of  N.  Y.  State,  pp.  146-151. 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


5 


receiving  Susquehanna.  Not  all  of  these  thirteen  hills  have  been 
proved  to  be  of  till.  Several  are  apparently  of  till,  others  may  be. 
Three  will  be  described  in  detail.  The  first  one  encountered  after 
entering  the  valley  lies  about  two  miles  from  Vestal,  a station  on 
the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad.  It  is  about  a 
half  mile  in  length  and  nearly  a fourth  in  width,  and  rises  a hun- 
dred feet  above  the  stream.  Its  north  end  is  the  broadest,  but  the 
middle  portion  is  the  highest.  The  surface  is  of  a weak  sag-and- 
swell  type,  with  no  swamps;  while  between  it  and  the  west  valley 
wall  there  is  a well-marked  depression.  (See  Fig.  5.)  Two 
wells  on  its  northern  slope  are  18  and  23  feet  in  depth  respect- 
ively, and  neither  encounters  rock.  One  on  its  summit  is  open 
and  45  feet  deep; 
no  record  of  mate- 
rial passed  through 
could  be  found,  but 
a large  dug  well 
would  scarcely  be 
made  in  rock.  The 
hill  is  so  situated  in 
the  valley  that  the 
stream  flowing  in  a 
broad  flood  - plain 
both  above  and  be- 
low this  point  is 
here  crowded  into  a 
narrow  channel  for 
a third  of  a mile, 
but  no  rock  appears  at  any  point  in  the  cut.  The  whole  section  is 
a typical  till  cut.  The  stream  cuts  against  rock  in  the  east  valley 
wall  just  north  of  the  gorge  at  R in  Fig.  5. 

Another  smoother,  rounder  hill  occurs  a mile  farther  up  stream 
fairly  well  separated  from  the  west  valley  wall  but  not  close  enough 
to  the  other  to  crowd  the  stream;  hence  there  are  no  stream  cuts 
in  it.  However,  appearance  and  tradition,  the  only  evidence 
available,  agree  that  it  is  not  a rock  hill.  Close  to  it  and  to  the 
north  is  a small  rounded  hill  with  its  largest  and  highest  end  to 
the  south. 

A mile  above  the  last  large  one  is  the  most  regular  hill  found. 
(See  Fig.  6.)  Its  relation  to  the  valley  is  all  told  by  the  figure.  A 
well  dug  at  X in  Fig.  6 is  said  by  the  owner  to  be  25-30  feet  deep, 
but  no  rock  was  encountered.  If  this  hill  were  in  a drumlin  region 
it  would  unquestionably  be  called  a drumlin. 


o 


FIG.  6. — DRUMLINOID  3^-4  MILES  ABOVE  VESTAL  IN  CHOCONUT 
CREEK  VALLEY.  SCALE,  2 IN.=  I MILE. 


6 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


Near  the  head  of  a stream  entering  the  Nanticoke  at  Union 
Center  from  the  west  are  two  of  the  smallest  examples  found. 
They  are  600-800  feet  long  and  about  500  feet  wide.  Both  present 
good  till  cuts  where  attacked  by  the  stream.  In  another  west 
branch  of  Nanticoke  Creek,  some  three  miles  north  or  northeast  of 
the  village  of  Maine,  is  a hill  with  a four-crested  summit.  The  hill 
is  about  1,200  feet  by  700  feet,  and  50  feet  high,  well  separated 
from  the  valley  wall  and  certainly  mainly  composed  of  till.  There 
are  a number  of  forms  of  questionable  character  in  this  vicinity. 

Still  others  in  Apalachin  and  adjacent  sheets  show  similar 
features.  Pipe  Creek  on  the  Owego  sheet,  mapped  by  Professor 
Tarr,  has  many.  The  largest  is  60  feet  high  and  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  in  length  and  stands  out  into  the  valley,  deflecting  the  stream. 
This  one  is  higher  and  steeper  on  the  north  end.  There  are  several 
stream  cuts  in  it,  one  20  feet  high,  but  none  reveal  rocks.  Super- 
imposed on  the  south  end  of  this  larger  one  is  a smaller  hill  which 
stream  dissection  has  cut  almost  in  half,  exposing  only  till.  North- 
west of  Straits  Corners  is  the  only  hill  in  this  valley  bearing  mo- 
rainic topography. 

At  the  northeast  corner  of  the  Folio  but  just  off  into  the  Cort- 
land quadrangle  is  a small  example  of  drumlinoid  composed  chiefly 
of  stratified  gravel  and  sand.  So  well  stratified  is  the  deposit  that 
it  has  been  opened  and  the  sand  and  gravel  drawn  away  for  local 
use.  This  is  the  only  drumlinoid  reported  in  the  entire  Catatonk 
Folio  region  with  more  than  traces  of  stratification. 

In  the  southern  half  of  the  Folio  the  valleys  are  deeply  filled 
with  till  and  stream  deposits,  often  partly  stratified.  As  a rule  this  fill- 
ing lies  smoothly  in  the  valley  with  a narrow  trench,  of  post-glacial 
development,  cut  through  it;  but  sometimes  bunches  of  till  with 
little  sags  behind  them  cling  to  the  valley  sides.  Many  examples 
of  this  class  have  been  half  or  more  cut  away  by  the  stream,  reveal- 
ing thick  till  accumulations.  Some  of  these  occur  in  valleys  where 
the  more  perfect  drumlinoid  hills  are.  By  search  throughout  the 
whole  Folio  area  examples  may  be  found  constituting  a series, 
which  passes  by  small  gradations,  from  the  thickened  hump  of  till 
half  removed  and  easily  denominated  valley  filling,  to  the  well- 
formed  and  perfectly  preserved  drumlin-shaped  hill  shown  in 
Fig.  6. 

There  are  numbers  of  forms  whose  true  nature  has  not  been 
proved.  Some  of  these  may  be  rock,  but  where  they  stand  out 
well  into  the  valley,  I cannot  see  how  a rock  hill  could  be  pre- 
served except  in  rare  accidents  or  very  special  conditions.  But 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


7 


one  example  of  an  authentic  rock  hill  lying  in  a valley  is  known  in 
the  entire  area,  and  that  is  a large  one  near  Union  in  the  Susque- 
hanna valley.  This  hill  is  several  times  as  large  as  any  of  those 
above  described,  and  its  slopes  are  as  steep  as,  or  steeper  than, 
the  valley  walls  in  this  vicinity,  while  almost  without  exception  the 
till  hills  have  much  gentler  slopes,  and  hence  appear  more  mature 
than  the  proximal  valley  walls.  (See  sections  and  maps.) 

Summing  up  the  data  presented  in  the  above  descriptions  the 
following  facts  may  be  stated: 

1.  About  seventy-five,  more  or  less,  rounded  hills  occur  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 

2.  Many  of  these  have  been  proved  by  stream  cuts  and  well 
sections  to  be  composed  of  unstratified  till.  Only  one  is  known  to 
be  essentially  water  laid. 

3.  Some  of  these  hills  blend  with  the  valley  wall  with  no  definite 
sag  between,  some  have  a well-marked  col,  and  some  lie  out  in  the 
valley  free  on  both  sides. 

4.  Many  are  so  situated  as  to  cause  the  valley  to  narrow  and 
widen,  and  the  stream  to  flow  alternately  over  a broad  flood  plain 
and  in  a narrow  gorge,  frequently  in  the  latter  case  to  be  obliged 
to  cut  a rock  channel  past  the  obstruction. 

5.  The  drift  hills  vary  in  length  from  200  to  1,300  yards;  in 
width  from  200  to  900  yards,  and  in  height  from  20  to  100  feet. 

6.  They  are  usually  somewhat  elongated,  but  vary  from  circular 
in  outline  to  an  axial  ratio  of  2:1.  Where  elongated  the  long  axis 
is  usually  parallel  with  the  valley  in  which  they  lie;  in  a few  cases 
it  extends  crosswise  of  the  valley. 

7.  Rarely  are  they  found  in  any  but  approximately  north  and 
south  valleys,  and  they  seem  to  lie  predominantly  in  valleys  trend- 
ing a little  N.W.-S.E.,  or  approaching  a right  angle  to  the  direc- 
tion of  ice  movement;  a few  doubtful  ones,  however,  are  in  the 
Susquehanna  valley;  they  are  known  in  valleys  of  all  sizes,  but  are 
best  developed  in  those  of  moderate  size. 

8.  Usually  the  surfaces  are  smooth  and  rounded,  but  in  a few 
instances  more  or  less  of  the  surface  is  morainic  in  character.  This 
last  seems  to  occur  more  frequently  on  the  south  end,  or  on  the 
flank  lying  nearest  to  the  valley  wall. 

9.  Many  half  and  other  fractional  forms  occur,  which  fact  sug- 
gests that  the  streams  have  in  part  destroyed  them,  and  many 
fractional  forms  blend  more  or  less  smoothly  with  the  ordinary 
valley  filling,  suggesting  that  it  is  the  partly-formed  variety  which  is 
most  easily  removed.  This  is  probably  due  to  the  lack  of  ready- 


8 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


made  channel-ways  around  them  when  the  streams  first  begin  to 
flow  through  the  ice-evacuated  valley. 

io.  They  are  grouped  in  valleys.  Rarely  is  one  found  alone, 
but  frequently  3 to  8 or  9 in  a single  valley.  They  are  not  reported 
from  the  upland,  and  probably  do  not  occur  there,  although  the 
difficulty  of  identifying  them  and  distinguishing  them  from  purely 
erosion  rock  forms  where  stream  cuts  are  rare  may  have  caused  an 
occasional  one  to  be  overlooked. 

if.  A few  of  the  described  forms  show  terminal  differentiation, 
being  a little  larger  or  a little  higher  at  the  north  end;  a smaller 
number  show  a similar  enlargement  at  the  opposite  end,  but  most 
of  them  have  a maximum  height  in  their  central  portions. 

Theories  and  explanations.  Four  hypotheses  have  been  consi- 
dered in  the  attempt  to  explain  these  interesting  features: 

First,  that  they  are  rock  forms  and  due  probably  to  preglacial 
erosion;  second,  that  they  are  morainic  loops  modified  in  many 
cases  by  stream  action;  third,  that  they  are  over-ridden  moraine; 
and  fourth,  that  they  are  valley-filling  or  morainic  masses  carved 
or  built  by  ice  into  drumlin-like  forms. 

In  the  early  stages  of  the  study  the  first  hypothesis  was  fre- 
quently resorted  to,  thinking  that  the  hill  in  question  each  time  was 
a smaller  but  similar  example  of  the  rock  type  seen  at  Union;  but 
it  soon  became  apparent  that  there  was  another  type.  Stream  cuts 
presented  the  first  evidence,  and  then  the  well  records  were  sought 
until  it  became  very  evident  that  many  of  the  forms  were  of  till. 
Rarely  was  any  evidence  found  that  a suspected  hill  was  of  rock. 
That  others  whose  internal  structure  is  unknown  are  of  the  same 
character,  namely,  of  till,  is  believed  to  be  true,  for  two  reasons: 
( a ) The  fact  that  they  lie  out  in  the  valleys,  thereby  narrowing 
down  to  a gorge  an  otherwise  broad,  mature  valley;  ( b ) That  their 
slopes,  except  those  recently  undercut,  are  very  much  more  mature 
than  those  of  the  valley  walls.  It  seems  probable  that  if  these  hills 
were  rock  remnants  they  would  possess  as  steep  slopes  as  the  valleys, 
and  possibly  often  steeper  slopes,  because  in  such  close  proximity 
to  the  stream.  This  should  be  expected  even  though  they  have 
not  been  postglacially  attacked  by  the  streams. 

When  it  was  discovered  that  the  rounded  hills  were  largely  com- 
posed of  till  the  second  hypothesis  was  proposed, ..and  in  support 
thereof  a number  of  points  may  be  adduced.  Sometimes  the  hills 
lie  almost  across  a valley  save  for  a narrow  postglacial  gorge;  they 
predominate  in  north-south  valleys;  in  two  places  small  loops  were 
found  crossing  valleys  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Folio,  and  such 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


9 


loops  had  become  very  familiar  in  the  northern  part  and  in  the 
adjoining  Watkins  Glen  Folio.*  But  if  this  be  their  explanation  a 
halt  of  the  ice-front  sufficiently  long  to  build  such  moraines  ought 
to  have  been  sufficient  to  construct  some  sort  of  a moraine  on  the 
valley  side  and  to  lay  down  washed  gravel  in  the  valleys  beyond 
the  loop.  Repeated  diligent  search  failed  to  reveal  either  moraine 
or  gravel.  No  possible  morainic  connection  has  been  found  in 
any  case  leading  away  from  the  drumlinoids  along  the  valley  sides. 
In  fact,  in  the  whole  southern  portion  of  the  Folio  where  the  types 
are  best  developed  no  systematic  moraine  was  found.  Further, 
except  in  rare  cases  there  has  not  been  found  characteristic 
morainic  topography  in  any  of  the  drumlin-like  hills. 

As  the  third  hypothesis  was  developed  the  suggestion  came  that 
the  peculiar  feature  might  stand  for  over-ridden  moraine — i.  <?. , mo- 
raine made  by  halts  during  the  advance  of  the  ice  or,  perhaps,  dur- 
ing an  earlier  advance.  There  is,  however,  at  present  no  recognized 
evidence  in  this  vicinity  of  an  earlier  advance.!  The  facts  that  the 
hills  in  question  are  composed  of  till,  that  they  are  in  the  north  and 
south  valleys,  and  that  they  are  generally  smoothed  forms,  lend 
colour  to  the  suggestion ; but  it  seems  probable,  as  in  the  considera- 
tion of  the  previous  hypothesis,  that,  if  it  be  moraine,  with  so  great 
accumulations  in  the  valleys  there  should  be  moraine  on  the  valley 
slopes  as  well.  Provisionally  it  may  be  answered  that  the  hill 
moraine  would  certainly  be  weaker  than  that  of  the  valley,  and 
therefore  may  have  been  more  completely  wiped  away  by  the  ice. 
However,  not  only  is  there  no  moraine  on  the  valley  sides  but 
there  is  no  trace  even  of  over-ridden  moraines.  It  may  be  possible 
that  hill  moraine  could  be  completely  brushed  away  by  an  ice 
invasion,  and  hence  that  this  explanation  may  account  for  the  pre- 
sence of  the  drumlin-like  masses  in  the  valleys  as  unremoved  rem- 
nants of  moraine;  but  it  seems  much  more  probable  that  the  forms 
in  the  valley,  above  which  the  ice  was  thicker  and  heavier,  would 
be  wiped  off  before  those  in  the  upland,  beneath  less  of  a burden. 
Further,  moraine  deposits  are  very  complex,  while  this  material  is 
almost  universally  very  simple  and  homogeneous  in  structure. 
Hence,  the  author  was  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  theory  of 
over-ridden  moraine  was  scarcely  adequate  to  account  for  all  the 
phenomena. 

There  is,  in  practically  all  the  valleys  of  the  Folio,  a large 
quantity  of  till  which  has  apparently  been  brushed  in  by  the  ice. 

* Bull.  Geol.  Soc.  Amer.,  Vol.  16  (1905),  No.  10,  pp.  215-228,  and  LJ.  S.  G.  S.  Watkins  Glen  Folio 
(in  press). 

+ Ibid , p.  217. 


10 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


This  material  throughout  the  whole  study  has  attracted  much 
attention  and  has  been  the  source  of  constant  study.  It  is  till, 
often  containing  large  angular  boulders  of  the  country  rock  as  well 
as  foreign  material,  and  is  usually  smoothed  into  the  valley  to  con- 
siderable depths.  In  many  valleys  this  drift  is  somewhat  bunchy. 
Sometimes  it  is  deeply  trenched  by  the  main  stream  and  even  by 
valley  side-rills.  It  sometimes  presents  rounded  forms  into  which 
the  streams  have  cut  deeply,  and,  as  stated  on  a previous  page, 
there  are  all  gradations  in  form  and  size — from  the  little, insignificant 
bunches  of  valley  filling  half  or  more  eroded  to  the  large,  complete 
drumlin-like  hill.  This  suggested  a fourth  hypothesis — namely, 
that  the  peculiar  forms  are  a consequence  of  ice  building  or  carving 
in  this  thickened  deposit  of  till.  As  points  in  its  favour  are  brought 
forward:  ( a ) The  relation  of  so  many  of  the  forms,  distinctly 
drumlinoid,  to  the  typical  valley  filling;  ( b ) the  gradational  series 
from  ordinary  bunched  filling  to  the  typical  drumlinoids;  (r)  the 
absence  of  morainic  connection  on  the  valley  walls  with  the  drum- 
linoids (of  course,  if  the  valley  hills  are  carved  from  the  valley 
filling  no  upland  moraine  need  have  existed) ; (d)  the  absence  of 
examples  in  the  uplands,  cirques,  and  higher  valleys,  where,  if 
formed  from  moraine,  certainly  some  forms  should  be.  This 
hypothesis  may  not  apply  to  all  forms  described  above,  as,  for 
example,  that  shown  in  Fig.  3,  but  it  may  well  explain  such  forms 
as  that  of  Fig.  6.  The  wholly  unstratified  and  homogeneous  struc- 
ture of  all  drumlinoids,  save  one,  whose  interior  arrangements 
have  been  seen,  argues  very  strongly  against  the  second  alternative 
in  this  hypothesis.  The  presence  of  some  stratification  in  the 
Rochester-Syracuse  drumlins  may  point  to  a constructive  process 
for  their  origin,  but  the  absence  of  bedding  and  the  homogeneity 
of  texture  lead  strongly  to  the  belief  that  these  drumlinoids  were 
carved  out  of  pre-existing  deposits  rather  than  that  they  were  built 
up  by  successive  additions. 

The  striking  resemblance  of  some  of  the  better  specimens  of 
drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio  to  the  drumlins  of  the  Rochester- 
Syracuse,  northern  Michigan,*  or  Wisconsinf  drumlin  areas, 
suggests  a community  of  origin,  and  yet  the  distribution  is  ex- 
tremely different.  Drumlins  have  usually  been  found  in  extensive 
groups  and  in  regions  of  otherwise  weak  relief.  Here  we  have 
them  scattered  widely,  two  or  three  to  eight  or  ten  in  a valley, 
with  long  stretches  of  country  between  them  and  in  a region  deeply 

* Russell,  I.  C.— Amer.  Geol..  Vol.  XXXV.  (1905),  No.  3,  pp.  177-9- 

t Chamberlin,  T.  C.— Geol.  Surv.  Wis.  Vol.  I.,  p.  283;  Jour.  Geol.,  Vol.  I.  (1893),  pp.  255-267. 

Upham,  W. — Amer.  Geol.,  Vol.  XIV  (1894),  pp.  69-83. 


Drumlinoids  of  the  Catatonk  Folio. 


11 


and  maturely  dissected.  It  is  because  the  forms  present  so  many 
similarities  to  drumlins  and  yet  differ  from  them  in  these  several 
respects  that  the  name  drumlinoid  has  been  given  them. 

They  may  represent  a new  phase  of  the  drumlin  and  emphasize 
further  the  belief  that  we  are  at  present  including  under  the  term 
drumlin  several  distinct  forms  with  perhaps  as  many  origins.  Since 
our  drumlinoids  are  apparently  due  to  ice  erosion  in  soft  till,  mainly 
valley  filling,  this  study  may  be  a contribution  to  the  general 
problem  of  the  origin  of  some  of  the  drumlins  of  the  more  classic 
areas. 

Note. — I have  noticed  in  some  of  the  Swiss  topographic  maps  the  description  of  forms  in  the 
Swiss  valleys  similar  to  these  drumlinoids  which  offer  an  inviting  field  for  study,  and  possibly  present 
material  which  when  studied  will  yield  a valuable  contribution  to  the  present  problem. 


Ohio  State  University. 


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